Alpine currant shrubs typically grow to heights between two and six feet (half a meter to about two meters) and have thick, abundant foliage. Plant bare-root currants in winter. Pruning will do this. It is easy to maintain the desired size on these small bushes. The flowers are greenish-yellow but ornamentally insignificant. This type of pruning is carried out over a 2-3 year period making sure to remove only 1/3 of the old growth each year. However, do this as soon as possible. It gets a little fuller when it leafs out in spring. Mulch with organic matter in spring and apply a general fertilizer suitable for shrubs. I am not sure if alpine currant falls into that category. November or December are best, although it can be done right up to the end of February, whenever the soil isn’t frozen solid or waterlogged. Prune out the short, spindly, dead or damaged wood – as close to the base of the currant as practical. It leafs out early, but retains its foliage all summer long and grows in sun or shade. If you have a large garden, a fruit cage is ideal, alternatively, cover plants in bud with anti-bird mesh. After planting, prune the bush right back. They can be pruned any time of the year and tolerate even a heavy pruning. The diagrams in books may look very straight-forward, but it’s a whole different story when faced with your own, undiagrammatical, pruning challenge. Left unpruned, alpine currants grow up to 5 feet tall and 7 feet wide, but the shrubs respond well to heavy pruning and shearing. The versatile shrub prefers moist, well-drained soil but adapts to dry, compacted landscapes and drought. How we ship bare root plants . Redcurrants, ... Red and Whitecurrants should always be pruned back to an outward facing bud, as is normal for most plants. Red Currants are pruned differently to Black Currants. Having had more than 20 years of experience with growing alpine currants in Northern Minnesota, I have planted them around this time of the year (late September). Pruning could not be more straightforward with forsythia and flowering currant. Prune out wood in the centre – for light and airflow. There are inconspicuous yellow flowers in June. The Alpine Currant is a great dwarf, compact, dense shrub, growing around 3-4 feet high. The blackcurrant is seldom grown as a cordon because the pruning and growing method is different to other currants and gooseberries. Container-grown currants can be planted at just about any time of year. Winter Pruning in Your Garden – Fruit Trees and Fruit Bushes. How to grow blackcurrants – pruning blackcurrants. How to prune gooseberry bushes and currant bushes. The weather should be rather mild and dry, with no risk of freezing. Most other hedges lend themselves to autumn pruning: privet, Alpine currant, boxwood, yews — you name it. The reason for this is you want the energy of the shrub go into the roots and not into the foliage. As can be imagined, a bush that needs it’s old stems removing regularly to keep it invigorated and encourage a fresh supply of fruiting wood, isn’t really going to be much use as a cordon. Flowering currant can live for two to three decades. In spring, feed with pelleted chicken manure or other high potash fertiliser, and add a thick mulch. Birds like to eat the developing buds of currant bushes, so protect plants in the winter. To open the bushes up to light for ripening and airflow for health. Pick the fruit as and when it ripens. If you find pruning fruit bushes difficult you’re certainly not alone. For both Red and Black. Depending on the condition of the plant, various pruning methods can be applied. This encourages more than one central stem to grow and seems to result in a more healthy bush. The currants are some of the most easily grown fruit bushes. Some shrubs produce flowers on “new growth” – stems emerge in spring and summer, and flower buds are set and bloom later in the season. This shrubs is excellent in mass or foundation planting in the landscape. Remove branches that are tangled together. They key thing is to keep the soil moist, especially when the fruits are forming. A sucker is a new stem growing up from the base of the main stem or root ball. Pruning red and white currants Initial Pruning – Remove any suckers from the base of the plant. Hedges are easily kept at 3-foot heights. In winter: – prune pip fruits such as apples, but not if they are a trained form such as espalier; do not prune stone fruits, which include cherries, plums and nuts; bush fruits – currants and gooseberries – are winter pruned unless they have been grown as a trained form Ideal for situations of limited space, Cordons can be trained into a single, double or triple stem plant. Redcurrants and whitecurrants do not need the hard pruning that is recommended for Blackcurants and a framework of growth is left in place. Emerging early, the foliage changes to dark green in summer with an attractive gloss on the leaf uppersides, before warming up to yellow in the fall. This plant will spread to about 2-3' and may get a little taller. Pruning flowering currant after planting . Our experience is that that they are best planted 5cm / 2in deeper than they are in the pot. Initially the leaders [main stems] can be shortened by up to one third to any outwardly facing bud. There are a number of cultivars of this currant shrub available. Leave 1.8m (5ft) between currant bushes. With minimum effort you’ll have a reliable and abundant crop, and just one or two bushes will provide pounds of juicy fruits for puddings, jellies and sauces. The Green Mound Alpine Currant is a nice, hardy selection that stays dense and rounded. Alpine currant (Ribes alpinum) is a hardy, low mounded shrub commonly used as a hedge.Plants are tolerant of full sun to full shade. Whilst the Ribes do not actually need pruning to flower well, if the shrub has been planted in the wrong place and outgrown its position, then you will need to prune the Ribes to a/ get it back into proportion, and b/ regular pruning to ensure that it does not again outgrow its position. Plants shipped with great care! Leaves turns a slight yellow color in fall. First pruning of flowering currant. How to care for blackcurrants. You may want to rejuvenate the bush. Prune out branches growing low to ground. How to prune: A living hedge — versus a financial hedge, which is … Best offers for your Garden - https://amzn.to/2InnD0w ----- How to Prune Alpine Currant Hedges. Alpine currant's natural upright, oval shape lends itself well to classic hedge forms. After that, it may lose its vigor, even if you prune it diligently. The right time to prune a red currant bush is towards the end of winter, ideally during the months of February-March. Cut back the rest of the branches to approximately half of their length, cut at an upward facing bud to encourage growth upwards rather than outwards. Needs to be pruned annually to encourage strong, healthy shoots and improve flowering. Prune away any crossing shoots or branches. Do not cut below the lowermost branching point. The Ribes flower early in the Spring - just after Forsythia. Cut the new plants back to about half their height. Pruning soft fruits at the right time is essential to keeping plants productive. Pruning fruit bushes can seem complicated but is, in fact, very simple. Most of the problems associated with lack of fruit on red currant bushes is owing to the wrong method of pruning. First clear the center of the shrub, because having light penetrate to the center is crucial. Harvesting Blackcurrants: You'll see them darken and taste sweet when they are ripe, use scissors to cut them off. Follow our guide to get the most out of your fruit bushes and vines. Rejuvenation is a method of pruning old shrubs that have become too large. Then water the shrubs well this summer and avoid additional stress. Whether you plant this as a specimen or better yet, as a hedge, Alpine Currant will work for you. Young growth is susceptible to attack by aphids. Pruning in April-May. Black currant, red currant and white currant bushes all yield copious clusters of berries which are rich in vitamin C as well as having a high pectin content which makes them ideal for jams and jellies. Their fruit are so flavorsome and require so little work that I think every garden should include a currant bush. Planting & Care for Deciduous Shrub – Currant. Dig a hole 60x60cm (2x2ft) and 30cm (1ft) deep. Alpine Currant (Ribes alpinum) is the shrub you need when you want a super-hardy, totally dependable, tough-as-nails, doesn't care about the soil or light or air kind of shrub. Like most flowering shrubs, pruning serves to increase foliage density and enhance flowering year after year. Prune in winter, creating an open bowl shape that deters sawflies and helps ripen fruit. Opinions differ as to how deep to plant red currant bushes. How we ship container plants. When to prune shrubs depends on the plant’s flowering habit. Pruning should be quite drastic. On these plants, pruning needs to take place before flower buds are set. Pruning Ribes. Flowering currant can be pruned after flowering in April or May. ‘Aureum’ is an older cultivar that does best in a full sun exposure. Many people are nervous about the process so leave fruit unpruned which will result in progressively lower yields as the plant ages. Pests and Diseases. I would prune the dead branches back to a living bud, if possible. Alpine currant Ribes alpinum) is a dense shrub so make sure to remove its interior bulk to allow light into the center of the shrub. The thing you need to remember is no matter how badly you prune you will not ruin your fruit plant beyond repair and can … Watch this expert RHS video on pruning soft fruits including redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries when growing in a restricted space Therefore, cut back some of the old wood each year to stimulate fresh growth and remove any dead or diseased stems. Alpine currant shrubs are susceptible to aphid infestation. PRUNING BLACKCURRANT BUSHES Pruning of blackcurrant bushes is very simple. First cut away all dead, diseased and intersectiong branches. Preparation. Very low maintenance with no ornamental appeal than its dense green foliage. Blackcurrant bushes need plenty of watering and feeding – particularly if container grown. But at this point, with the photo of the shrub with the dead center, you can see how it recovers. "Happily ever after" with a blackcurrant bush should be about 15 years before they should be replaced. Some shrubs can push new growth from the base following severe pruning. The time to prune is when they are dormant, mid-winter to early February is a good time for this garden job. Planting is simply digging a hole slightly larger than the root spread, placing the plant in the hole and in-filling with earth. Don't prune for the first year of their life. This is done by selecting one third of the branches, divided evenly over the bush, and cutting these back to a height of about 50 cm. Other shrubs produce flowers on the former year’s growth, aka “old growth”. This plant has some cultivated varieties. Pruning Cordon Currants. Get the pruning right at the right time and red currants are hardly ever a problem. Plants in their prime will produce 8-12lbs / 3.5 - 5.5kg of fruit each year. 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